Revisiting Old Places

In dreams, faintly appears Mount Ci, returning to forty-seven years ago.

Foot clamps upheld the dreams of youth, electric poles plucked the strings of ideals.

In the vault of heaven, Nüwa mended with colored stones; on the earth, cables thread through ridges and ravines.

Want to ask about the vicissitudes of Cishan and Shexian? Wheels roll on, raising white smoke.

Treading over green hills, I met a beauty; a happy union for a hundred years, never to part.

Together we play the symphony of bowls and pots; sharing a pillow under the eaves, accompanying each other from dawn to dusk.

A short rest at Kuitun, reaching the edge of town; the towering Tianshan, ten thousand ren high, stands before my eyes.

Want to ask where the heavenly road is? The Duku Highway flies through the nine layers of heaven.

Cloudy and clear, daily encompassing the four seasons; cold and warm, year after year covering the mountains and rivers.

Stepping on the twisting dragon-like thousand-bend ridges, I look up and gaze afar at Yumen Pass.